A New Dawn
by familyofthieves
Summary: Even fate gets tired of waiting and has to take the first opportunity to set their lives back on the right path.
1. Versus Pregnancy Test

This will be a collection of drabbles relating to Chuck and Sarah's first child. At the moment they will be in order, but depending on what I am motivated to write about they will probably be all over the place time wise. Thank you all so much for reading the fic before this I hope you like this one just as much!

* * *

He was the first one awake again and easily slipped out from under his wife's arm so that he could go and start breakfast for them. It wasn't long after the coffee started to brew that she came into the kitchen.

"Morning." he smiled.

She gave a little wave back and leaned against the counter with him. "Are you feeling okay? I think the leftovers in the fridge started to turn." Her hand gingerly touching to her stomach.

His ears and attention perked up at this seemingly innocent question. He had heard this once before, almost verbatim. Only then he'd been so distracted by his work that he had missed the signs. Once he knew the truth about what his wife had been hiding, he's vowed to himself that he wouldn't make the same mistake. That the next time the signs appeared he would be ready and there for her.

"Anything else bothering you?" He asked trying his best to sound casual.

She thought for a moment, "no I just feel really queasy."

With this she quickly walked away and he followed behind right into the bathroom.

"Do you remember the last time you felt like this?" He asked.

It wasn't often he was the one to bring up old memories. He never wanted to upset her and always took queues from her of when it was time to share.

"No. Am I supposed to?" She answered looking surprised and worried.

"I didn't think you would. But only a few days before the train you'd woke up in a very similar fashion. You were worried that the pizza Morgan left in the fridge had gone bad and ran off to the bathroom. Right after we went on a mission where you only drank water and wouldn't get in the hot tub with me. Casey was the one who spilled the beans about your secret and as soon as we got home we bought a test."

Her eyes widened hanging on to every word he said, "you don't think I'm...I can't be...it's not possible."

"There is a good chance my mind is jumping to conclusions and the left overs really are spoiled. But, there is only one way to know for sure."

He leaned down and pulled out a pregnancy test box. With shaking hands she took it from him and examined its contents.

"We only used one last time and decided to save it for the next time we thought..."

"I'll take it, maybe it will be negative like the last one."

"You remember?"

"No, but I figured it had to be negative since we don't have a baby."

"Fair point. Do you want me to leave you alone?"

She nodded her head, "I'll let you know when I'm done."

He closed the door behind him and slid down the wall. Anxiously his leg shook as he waited for her to let him back in. He hoped for her sake that the test was negative, but in the back of his mind he wanted it to be positive. They might not be in the best place to have a baby, but there never really was a perfect time to have one. He turned his head when he saw the door open and knew that it was his sign to go in.

"How long do we have to wait?" He asked sitting down next to her on the bathtub.

"The box says three minutes." She answered never taking her eyes off the stick.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head no and both of them went back to looking and waiting.

"It's changing." He commented.

"It didn't look like that last time," it was a statement not a question.

"Yeah." He had to hide the excitement and confusion in his voice as she remembered another small detail from their past. "What do the directions say?"

She picked up the piece of paper from the floor and compared it to the test, "I'm pregnant"

Tears instantly came to her eyes and she shot up from the toilet. "No that can't be right. I can't be pregnant." She ranted as she paced back and forth. "I'm not ready for this. This can't be happening. There's no way that I'm...I'm...I'm..."

He had to stay calm for her even though on the inside he was jumping for joy. They were going to have a baby! And while the timing of it sucked he was over the moon with the news. But seeing how his wife was reacting he knew that he had to hide his feelings, at least for now.

"Sarah you need to calm down." He stood up and pulled her into his arms.

There she finally let the tears that had been building up spill over. He had one hand on the back of her head while the other one ran up and down her back bringing her as close to his body as possible.

"It's going to be okay." He whispered into her hair and gave her a kiss.

"No it's not Chuck. What are we going to do?"

"We're going to have a baby that's what we're going to do."

"But we're not ready to have a baby. There's still so much I don't remember and our relationship is just starting to get back to what I assume it was like before. How are we supposed to add a baby into this mix?"

"Plenty of people have babies and barley know each other, just look at 16 and pregnant."

She looked up at him confused missing the reference.

"Never mind." He said and brought her head back down to rest bellow his chin. "You have enough old and new memories now for this baby. Besides its not like they're going to come out tomorrow. We have like seven to eight months for more memories to come back."

"Yeah but..."

"No buts allowed. We have time Sarah, trust me this baby is a good thing."

Her only response was to nuzzle her head in closer to his chest. He continued to hold her in silence letting the shock of the news settle.

"Ellie." he said suddenly.

"Ellie?" she asked looking up at him confused once more.

"Yeah Ellie, you should talk to her about this." he explained sounding so sure of himself.

"Why should I talk to her?"

"Because she'll know exactly what to say to you to calm your worries. She already has a baby, plus has a second one on the way. She's the perfect person to talk to about this. You should text her right now and say you want to talk."

"Don't you want to be the one to tell her about the pregnancy?"

"Of course, but I think that it's more important that you get to talk to her about this."

She leaned up on her toes to give him a kiss on the lips. "You're kind of perfect you know?"

He casually shrugged his shoulders, "I try my best to be when it comes to you. Now go find your phone and text Ellie."

She slowly walked out of the bathroom and came back in a moment later already typing away on her cell phone. After a minute the phone dinged with his sister's reply.

"She said as soon as she comes home from work we can talk." she read off the phone.

"Perfect." he smiled and pulled her into his body once more. "You are going to feel a lot better after talking to Ellie I promise."

She nodded her head in agreement.

"And Sarah." he lifted her chin up so they're eyes could meet. "We're going to have a baby."

He finally allowed himself to show excitement over the news and even got a little smile out of her. He knew she would warm up to the idea of them having a baby, it would just take a little time. A lot had changed in a short amount of time and she had every right to be scared and nervous about this one. But deep down he knew that this baby was meant to come into their lives now.

"Why don't you go back to bed and get some rest."

She shook her head no, "I'm not tired."

He gave her another small smile and took her hand leading her out of the bathroom and into the living room. Sitting down on the couch he pulled her down with him and gently pushed her head into his lap.

"Rest." he ordered and she didn't protest.

He ran his hands through her hair not wanting to loose any contact with her as he picked up the remote control and started flipping through the channels.

"Chuck, thank you." she whispered looking up at him.

"Always." he smiled back and leaned down to kiss her.


	2. Versus Gender Reveal

Her husband was uncharacteristically quiet as they walked out of he doctor's office. She had expected him to talk a mile a minute after the appointment, but instead he seemed to be lost in thought. She tried her hardest to start up a conversation with him, now that they knew the sex of the baby the real planning could begin, but he brushed everything off and give her one word answers or nods of his head.

He pulled into their parent complex, but made no move to get out of the car.

"Aren't you coming in?" She asked peaking her head back in.

"No I need to run out. I shouldn't be gone long."

She closed to door and watched as he drove away, concern etched on her face.

They had talked about the sex of the baby a lot these past few months. They both agreed they wanted to know as soon as possible and not wait till the birth. There was just so much to do and plan for that it was easier to know what they were having instead of letting it be a surprise. She had thought he would be happy with either gender, that was what he had told her after all. But she knew deep down he wanted a boy. He had mentioned it in passing of how he couldn't wait to share with his son all her comics, video games, movies and other nerdy things he loved.

But now they were having a girl and he wouldn't be able to do all that. Well, she knew he still would share his passions with their daughter, but she worried it wouldn't be the same for him.

She slowly into the spare bedroom that had once been hers and now would be her daughter's. The couple had come a long way from when they slept in two different room and even farther from when they learned about the pregnancy. More memories had come back to her, but they weren't on her mind all the time. She was more focused now on the baby and making sure they were ready for her arrival. Somehow not stressing and thinking about all that she had forgotten had helped her regain more of what she had lost. Only a few so far had been major breakthroughs, not like Shaw, but more subtle day to day things that would pop into her mind and she would make a little comment on it that would lead her husband into story mode.

He got so excited about every little thing, which was why she was so worried about him now. She expected him to be over the moon now that they knew the sex, but instead he seemed so solemn. She couldn't help but let herself think that he was disappointed about having a girl. She knew he would come around to the idea and love the baby no matter what, but she didn't want him upset that their first child wasn't the gender he wanted.

She looked around the now empty room and sighed. There still was time left in her pregnancy, but there was still so much to be done and now that they knew the gender they could really get going. But once again she worried that her husband would put it off, or not be as excited. She knew she was overthinking everything, she blamed the pregnancy for that, but with the total silence in the house it was hard not to let her mind wander.

Thankfully before her thoughts could get worse she heard the sound of the front door opening and closing. Quickly, or as quickly as she could these days with her stomach, she headed into the main room.

"Where have you been?" she asked letting all her worrying finally come out.

"The mall." he said and held up a small bag.

"You went to the mall?"

He nodded his head yes, "Sarah, did you know the make converse for babies?"

She looked at him shocked. The mood he was in earlier seemed to have dissipated and back was her overly excited husband over baby converse.

"No I didn't know that."

"Well they do and look at these!" he stuck his hand into the bag and pulled out the smallest pair of pink converse she had ever seen. "How cute are they?"

"Pretty cute, but why did you buy them?"

"For our daughter of course."

"Our daughter?"

"Yeah you know that alien thing that has been growing in your stomach these past few months, which the doctor swears is a baby or to be more exact a baby girl. You didn't have a relapse, did you forget about the pregnancy?"

"No I didn't, I just...when you left without telling me where you were going and acting all sad and weird I didn't expect you to go to the mall to buy a pair of baby pink converse that's all. I thought you were going to sulk about the gender because you were disappointed l and you didn't want me to know."

"Why would I be disappointed?

"Because I knew how much you wanted a boy and you and I know we both agreed we would be happy with either, but when you wouldn't talk to me I assumed you were upset over the gender."

"Sarah, I could never be disappointed! Sure I wanted a boy, but we're having a baby girl! What could be better?!"

"So then why were you so quiet in the car?"

"Because everything that Devon told me about having a daughter crashed into my mind and then I started thinking about converse and would our daughter wear them. I mean black converse are great and all, but what if she was bald and wearing black converse and everyone thought she was a boy? So I had to run to the mall to see my options or buy her something super girly to balance out the converse, because our child has to wear converse. And then I saw these pink ones and I had to buy them."

"So the entire car ride home you were thinking about converse?"

He paused for a moment then shrugged, "Yeah pretty much."

She let the information sink in before slapping him across the shoulder.

"Ouch what was that for." he asked holding his hurt arm.

"For leaving me alone with my negative thoughts and letting me think you were disappointed about having a girl."

"Sarah I'm so sorry." he apologized and pulled her into his arms. It wasn't as easy as it was with her bulging stomach, but he still managed to fit his body around hers.

"So you're really not disappointed that we're having a girl."

"Of course not! Sarah I'm over the moon that we are having a daughter."

"What about passing on your love of all things nerdy?"

"No one said I could only share those things with a son. Our daughter is going to be just as much of a nerd as her father. I'm already thinking of what I'm going to teach her about first."

"Not too much nerd please, I don't think I could handle two of you."

"No promises Sarah, but I'm sure some of your good qualities will rub off on her too."

She looked up at him, "Like what?"

"Like your strength, and your never giving up attitude, and of course your looks. Granted we always knew our child was going to be good looking with both of our genes."

She nodded her head in agreement, "We are going to have pretty good looking kids."

"Yeah, but I do hope none of them have my curls."

"But I love your curls, they're so cute."

"Yeah, but they are such a pain to deal with, especially as a kid. They're just all over the place and I don't want our kids to have to suffer like I did."

"Poor baby Chuck having to deal with mean curls." she teased and leaned up to give him a peck on the lips.

"You have no idea how much I suffered."

She bit her lip to stop full laughter from coming out, she needed him to stop before he got lost in the bad humor.

"So what are we doing next, now that you have made the most important purchase for our baby." she gestured to the converse.

"I was thinking that tomorrow we could look at paint colors for the nursery and tonight we could cuddle up on the couch and finally purchase some of those baby items you've been putting in the cart."

"What about coming up with an actual baby name list?"

"That too! Now that we know we are having a girl I really like you should consider the name Leia."

"We are not naming our baby after a Star Wars character Chuck."

"But come on, it's such a good name."

She rolled her eyes, "I've told you this a thousand times Chuck, we are not naming our child after anything fandom related."

"But Sarah..."

"No buts, I am putting my foot down and that's final."

"Sure, Sarah, sure."

She tried to give him a mean look and was planning on arguing with him until he pulled her into his arms for a long and passionate kiss.

"Do you want to forget all this baby stuff for a moment and go celebrate finding out we're having a girl?"

"Yes." she sighed all anger suddenly forgotten as her hormones drastically shifted from anger to lust.

"Good." He smirked knowing his plan had worked.

"Don't think you've won yet Chuck, this is just one fight in the battle."

He pulled her in for another hard kiss before taking her hand and leading her towards the bedroom before saying, "Whatever you say Sarah."


	3. Versus Names

"What do you want to do for Fathers Day?" She asked casually as the couple laid in their bed, their hands clasped over her buldging stomach.

"Father's Day?" He asked back sounding confused.

"You know that holiday where we celebrate how great dads are?"

"I know what it is, but I don't understand why you're asking me what I want to do for it."

"Because you're a dad now."

"Um not quiet yet, this little girl still has three more months of safety inside of her mother before I can do anything."

"That's not true Chuck you've already done so much for her."

"I've helped create her and that's pretty much it for now."

"Okay so maybe your help has been more for me, but that's helping her too."

He looked at her still not convinced about his role just yet.

"Please Chuck can't we do something." She begged.

"Why is this so important to you?"

"When was the last time you celebrated Father's Day Chuck?"

He turned to face the wall as he racked his brain for an answer to her question.

"That's exactly the reason why! I know you haven't celebrated the holiday since your dad left and he died before you got to celebrate it after we found him. And I certainly haven't celebrated Father's Day in years because that would require my dad being in one spot for more than a day. I want to make this day special for us Chuck. This is a fresh start for our family and I want to start it off on the right foot. So yes the baby might not be here, but think of it as a celebration of all the great things you are going to do for our daughter."

"Okay we can do it." He agreed.

"Really?"

"Yes really we can celebrate Father's Day."

She gave him her biggest smile followed by a kiss.

"So what would you like to do?" She asked pulling away.

"Well more of that followed by a reenactment of making the baby would be a good start." He half teased.

She rolled her eyes, "okay other than that, what would you like to do on the actual day or what would you want."

He thought hard again trying to find the perfect gift for himself that wouldn't cause his pregnant wife too much stress. He didn't really want anything material either, it didn't seem appropriate for this holiday.

"How about picking a baby name." He finally suggested.

"Really that's what you want?"

"Is there something wrong with it?"

"No I think that's a perfect idea." She smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Can we do it now or do we have to wait for the actual holiday?"

"Well since tomorrow is Father's Day I think we can do it now."

"Is it really tomorrow? Where have I been these past few weeks."

"In baby and work land of course. You've been so busy with the company and making sure I'm comfortable and not over working plus preparing for her arrival you haven't had much time for TV or anything outside of our office or house."

"I really need to get out more."

"Maybe you should have asked for a baby moon instead."

"No a name is better, then we can really start planning things out."

"See you're already a perfect father, your putting her needs ahead of your own."

She gave him another kiss on the cheek before weaving their fingers together over where their daughter comfortably rested peacefully.

"So a name."

"Yeah a name. What if..."

"Don't you dare say we should name her Leia."

"I wasn't going to, I know shocker. I was going to say, what if we named her after my sister."

"Eleanor?"

"Well not the exact name, but something similar to it. She basically raised me and she has done so much for us, it just feels right naming our first daughter after her."

"Chuck I love it."

"You do?"

She nodded her head, "it's the perfect idea."

She reached over to her nightstand to grab her phone and opened up the baby naming app she had downloaded. So far she had mostly browsed it not really liking any name she saw, but now she had a lead to help them find the perfect name. She typed Eleanor into the search bar and watched as all the names popped up.

"Evelyn, Ella, Elizabeth." He started to read off.

"Emma's on here, we can name the baby after my mom too."

"So Emily, Emerson, Emilia."

She shook her head no, as nice of these names were none of them were screaming out.

"Eliza, Edith, Eloise?" He kept going.

"Wait, what was the last one you read?"

"Eloise?"

"Yeah that one, Eloise." She tested the name out on her lips. "That's it, that's the one!"

"Eloise really?"

"You don't like it?"

"No no no! I love it! We can even call her Elle for short."

She placed their hands over her stomach, "What do you think baby? Is your name Eloise?"

They both felt a kick and they looked at each other with giant grins on their faces. The baby had been quiet all night long and it was as if she knew what her parents were discussing about their entire time waiting for her moment to speak up.

"Well that settles it!"

"We have a name!" She said in shock.

"Yes we do, Eloise Bartowski."

He leaned forward to give her another kiss. "What's the look for?" He asked noticing her face as he pulled away.

"Nothing." She shrugged trying to sound casual.

"If it was really nothing you wouldn't be looking that way."

She sighed, "it's stupid, but when I was kid I used to read these books about a little girl named Eloise. She lived in the Plaza Hotel and had these crazy adventures. And as a kid running around with my dad I always related to her and when we stayed at crappy hotels or houses I would pull out my book and pretend I was Eloise in my suite. And I know it's dumb, but..."

"It's not dumb at all Sarah, it makes the name ever more special. Though I'm afraid we might have to change it."

"Why?" She asked suddenly getting worried.

"Because you said we weren't allowed to name our baby after fictional characters."

"Shut up." She slapped him across the shoulder.

"What? I'm just pointing out the one big rule that you came up with. Though I guess we can make an exception."

"Thank you." She sighed and leaned her head against the spot where she had just hit him. "I can't believe we have a name."

"Me neither, now we just need to come up with a middle name."

"Let's save that for another day. So was this a good Father's Day present?"

"The best, and I can't wait to see what you come up with next year when our little Eloise is in the world to celebrate with us."


	4. Versus the Birth

She was home alone, as she usually was these days. With her due day rapidly approaching her husband forced her to take an early maternity leave. She told him she could still do her desk job, that didn't require too much, but he insisted saying it was better for all of them if she stayed home and relaxed. Most days she wouldn't admit he was right, but today she was glad she could be lying on the couch and not sitting in an office chair. The Braxton Hicks contractions wouldn't stop making her feel uncomfortable and in a constant state of pain.

She heard the beep of her text tone and assumed it was her husband checking up on her, like he always did, but was surprised to see that it was her sister-in-law. She sent a quick reply back explaining about how she was feeling today and complaining about the pain. She was even more surprised when her phone started ringing only a few minutes after the text was sent.

"Hello." She spoke into the phone.

"How long have you been having contractions for?" Her sister-in-law asked without a greeting.

"Um..." She thought back, "since I woke up."

"Have you been timing them?"

"No why would I do that?"

"Because Sarah I think you're in labor."

She sat up just as another contraction hit her, "but they're just Braxton Hicks." She explained once the pain subsided.

"Braxton hicks wouldn't be going on for this long and I'm sure if you think back you'll notice a time pattern between them."

Now that she thought about it, the pain was coming timely increments.

"But I can't be in labor, my due date isn't for another week! My water didn't even break yet!" She cried.

"Those are just an estimate a week is totally fine. And a lot of women's waters don't break."

"But I'm not ready, we're not ready for her to come yet!"

"Yes you are! Now listen carefully Sarah I'm going to hang up soon and I need you to call Chuck and tell him to come home."

"Hang up? Why are you hanging up?"

"Because I just booked the first flight out to Burbank and I need to get to the airport."

"Ellie you don't need to fly out here today."

"Yes I do Sarah, there is no way I am missing my baby brother become a father for the first time and I want to be there for you as well."

"Thank you."

"Of course, it's what sisters do. Now what are you going to do when I hang up?"

"Call Chuck."

"Good, I'll see you very soon. And Sarah, remember to breath."

"Breath, got it."

And with that she hung up the phone. Listening to her sister-in-law's words, she took a it breath before calling her husband.

"Hey Sarah, what's up?" He asked sounding like his usual happy self.

"Ellie thinks I'm in labor." She explained.

"What?"

"I don't know I've been in pain all day and I thought it was just Braxton Hicks, but they're been pretty consistent and not random so I think your sister is right."

"But your due date isn't for another week."

"I know, but Ellie said that's fine too."

"Alright Sarah I'll be home soon. I love you."

"I love you too and please hurry."

She hung up her cell phone and started pacing around the room. She couldn't believe this was happening. Yes she knew it was going to happen, but she didn't expect to go into labor early. Another contraction hit her, more painful than before. She breathed through it just like she was taught to and wished more than anything her husband was there. Once it was over she knew she had to come up with a plan of action. Pacing around the apartment was only going to make things worse.

Her bag, she hadn't packed her hospital bag yet! That was the perfect thing to do while she waited. She waddled into the bedroom and pulled out her over night duffle bag, which had been empty for years. At one point spy clothes, guns, and knives filled this bag and now she was going to place tiny baby clothes in, she had come far.

She didn't know what to pack though, which was weird because she uses to always know what to throw in. She knew she needed a pair of clothes for when she left, and something loose fitting. She reached into the closet and pulled out the first shirt and leggings she grabbed. Next pajamas, not that she was sure about that but it was better to be safe. The problem here was she didn't have any good post baby ones. She had started wearing only her underwear to bed as soon as she got too big for her little nightgowns and too hot for real clothes. Her husbands clothes would have to do for now, she knew he wouldn't mind. So in went a t-shirt and boxer shorts followed by her robe and a pair of slippers.

Finally she took the bag into the nursery. She stood in the doorway and looked around, next time she stepped foot in here she would have a baby in her arms and not in her stomach. She shook her head and made herself focus, she had to finish packing this bag. She walked to her daughters dresser and pulled out the outfit they had picked to bring their daughter home in. She was folding it up when she heard the front door slam.

"Sarah!" Her husband called out.

"In the nursery." She shouted back.

"Hey, I got here as fast as I could. How are you?"

"Not too bad, I just finished packing the bag." She held it up to show him, but was hit by another contraction.

In an instant he was by her side and coaching her through the pain.

"Wow this...this is really happening. You're really in labor."

"Looks that way."

"Come on we need to get you to the hospital."

"Wait, I didn't pack anything for you."

"Don't worry about me, I'll have someone swing by later. Let's focus on you and getting little Elle into the world safely."

"Chuck we're going to have a baby." She gasped the realization finally hitting her.

"Yes we are, now let's go before you give birth right here."

"I'm sure the intersect has something about birth." She joked as they got into the car.

"It probably does, that doesn't mean I want to test it out."

"I haven't told anyone I'm in labor." She gasped as they drove off towards the hospital.

"To be fair you haven't known for very long. And Sarah don't worry we'll call and text everyone as soon as we get you checked into a room. I don't think she is going to come out that quickly."

She nodded her head and took a big breath in leaving back against the head rest.

"Another contraction?" He asked risking to glance over at her.

"No just nerves. I've put my life on the lines and have been tortured more time than I can count, but the thought of having to push a baby out of me is terrifying."

He put his hand on her knee and gave it a gentle squeeze, "it's going to be okay Sarah, actually more than okay because I'll be with you the entire time and when it's all over you'll get to meet our daughter."

She gave him a smile and grabbed onto his hand for extra comfort.

They pulled into the hospital parking lot not long after and checked in at the front desk. True to his word as soon as she was being settled into a room he started to call everyone who needed to know about the delivery.

"Do you know who you want in the room with us?" He asked trying to keep her clam after another contraction hit her.

"My mom and Ellie." She answered after a few deep breaths.

"Ellie?"

"Sorry I forgot to tell you, but Ellie is on her way right now."

"All the way from Chicago? Why?"

"Because she wanted to be here for us and our daughter. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

"No it's fine, we were a little distracted about getting you here. I guess I didn't need to leave that message about you being in labor huh?"

"Oh Gd here comes another one." She cried out and clutched her husbands hand.

"Breath Sarah, all the way in and then out." He tried to coach her.

"This is worse than being tortured." She groaned once it was over.

"At least this is a happy reason to be in pain." He offered, but she only shot him daggers. "never mind."

He sat down on the chair beside her bed, never letting go of her hand. All that was really left now was to wait until she was fully dilated and for the actual birth to happen. The doctor had told them in could be awhile and suggested to rest up as best as they could before it was time for the main event.

Both their heads perked up when they heard a knock on the door.

"Hello."

"Mom you made it." She sighed and held out her arms for a hug.

"Of course I did, I wasn't going to miss the birth of my first granddaughter." She explained and eagerly gave her daughter a hug and kiss.

"Where's Molly?"

"In the waiting room with Morgan, Alex, and Mary. They send their love and wanted me to tell you that Casey is on his way."

"Casey is coming?" He said mildly surprised.

His mother-in-law nodded her head, "that's what they told me."

The couple shared a smile. It had been a while since they had seen their old partner and it was good to know that he was going to be here for their daughter's birth.

The nurses came in and out of the hospital room checking on her progress, but things really began to move when they broke her water. The contractions came more often and were a lot more painful. Her husband never left her side and held her hand through every painful contraction, and even after they were finished he didn't let go.

"Did I miss it?" his sister asked barging into the room.

"No, you've only missed hours of very very painful contractions." she explained a huge smile on her face at the sight of her sister-in-law.

"Ellie you made it!" he got up from his spot to gave his sister a proper hug. "Where's your baby?"

"Mom has him." she walked over to her sister-in-law and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "How are you feeling Sarah?"

"Like I'm ready to get this baby out of me." she groaned as another contraction hit her.

Her husband was by her side in a second taking his spot again to help her get through the pain.

"It might not be too much longer." a nurse said walking into the room.

She did another check on the soon to be mother, "Dilated to 10, I think it's time for me to bring the doctor in."

"Looks like I came at just the right time!" his sister commented. "I'm going to head out..."

"Don't go Ellie, please stay I want you here." She begged.

"You do?"

"Yes we really do."

"Thank you!"

The doctor and nurse came in and got everyone and everything into position. Her husband and his sister each stood by her side holding her legs in place and her mother was at her head.

"Are you ready?" he whispered into her ear.

"No, but there is no turning back now."

"No there isn't, but just think after this out daughter will be here."

"I love you Chuck."

"I love you too and I have never been more proud of you." He gave her one final kiss before the doctor told her to push.

"I see the head." the doctor said. "I see a lot of hair."

He snuck a look down to see a head crowing, and true to the doctor's words filled with blonde hair.

"You're doing great Sarah." he said looking back at his wife.

A few more pushes later the doctor was telling them both to look down as their daughter entered the world.

"You did it!" he gasped, tears forming in his eyes. "We have a daughter."

The nurse wrapped their baby up in a towel and placed her on her mother's chest, continuing to clean her off. A cry pierced the room.

"Oh my gosh Chuck." she cried never taking her eyes off the new life that laid on her chest.

"Sarah you are amazing!"

She finally broke away from their daughter to look up at her husband. He gave her a kiss on the lips before they both turned back to look at the baby. Once he deemed her clean enough he kissed his daughter for the first time.

"Thank you guys fore being here." he said looking at his sister and mother-in-law.

"Thank you for letting us be here." his sister replied. "She's so beautiful."

She tried to wipe the tears from her eyes before walking over to her brother to give him a proper hug.

"I'm going to go tell everyone, okay?"

The new parents nodded their heads in agreement.

"Let me come with you." the new grandmother added. She gave her daughter a kiss on the head, "Congratulations Sarah, she's perfect."

The pair walked out of the room leaving the parents alone with the doctor and nurse as they continued to take care of mom and baby. Once the baby was fully cleaned, weighed, and measured he got the chance to hold his daughter for the first time.

"Sarah she's incredible." he cooed and sat down on the bed next to her. "Thank you."

"For what?" she asked, her hand resting on their baby.

"For her. For trusting me back on the beach and not giving up on us. I love you two so much."

"We love you too." she leaned up to give him a proper kiss.

They broke away when they heard a knock on the door and saw his sister pop her head in.

"How are you guys doing in here?" she asked walking all the way in.

"We're great." he sighed and looked down at the baby in his arms once more.

"Everyone is getting antsy out there, are you up for some visitors?"

"Bring them in." she laughed speaking for the whole family.

Her sister-in-law smiled and walked out of the hospital room to go tell their extended family it was time to meet the newest member. The large group came in soon after and immediately started cooing over the new baby. They passed her around giving everyone a chance to hold her.

"Do you guys have a name picked out?" his best friend asked after passing the baby back to her dad.

"We do. Sarah would you like to do the honors?"

"Sure. I would like you all to meet Eloise Jane Bartowski."


	5. Versus Birthday Planning

They had been home with the baby for two weeks and life couldn't have been better. Okay that wasn't totally true. Yes they loved their daughter more than anything in the world and they had never been happier, but they'd also never been more tired. She would have thought years of being in the the CIA would have trained her for sleepless nights, but steak outs and crying babies were two very different things. At least at the end of a mission she could catch up on the lack of sleep, but with the baby it was none stop going. But at the same time she wouldn't trade it for the world. She would much rather be at home with her daughter than on some dangerous mission.

Tonight the happy family was curled up on the couch watching a movie. Wife leaning against her husband's side and their baby sleeping peacefully on his chest. He wanted to start their daughter off young and have her experience all of his favorite. For the most part she indulged him, but still teased him since the two week old could not enjoy the movies since she slept through most of them.

"Your birthday is coming up." She said casually during what she considered a boring scene.

"It is." He agreed never taking his eyes off the screen.

"Have you had any ideas about what you would want to do for it?"

He shrugged, "there's not much we can do with a two, soon to be three, week old."

"Doesn't mean we shouldn't celebrate it."

"Any ideas on what we should do?"

"Well the one thing I know we would love to do we still can't because I was another two to four weeks left before that can happen."

He let out a snort, "yeah we have to make sure you're fully recovered before we do that and we also don't want this one in the room either." He motioned to the sleeping baby on his chest.

"We can always have people over for dinner, though we do that all the time so I don't know if that counts as special."

"If we add a birthday cake then I consider it a party. Plus I don't need special, just you and Elle is enough to make it a great day. And having Morgan around wouldn't hurt either."

She let out a small smile and rubbed the baby's back.

"Why is this birthday so important to you?"

"I just feel guilty that Elle wasn't born closer to your birthday. I know how excited you were when we found out and then she decided to come out early. I wanted to try and make up for that."

"Sarah you don't have to do that. It's not your fault this little one got impatient and couldn't wait any longer to join us. Plus she wouldn't want to share her birthday so close to her old man's anyway, we would be fighting for attention."

She cracked a real smile and laugh, "so you're really not disappointed?"

"Not at all! Honestly Sarah you gave me the best early birthday present ever. Though I guess the gift decided to unwrap herself early or really she..."

She quickly interrupted him. "Let's not recount those details if you want a second child. I'm still trying to recover and forget them."

"Noted. So more kids is a possibility then?"

She shrugged, "the first one came out pretty well might as well try for a second."

"That is a very valid point." He said, his smiling lighting up the room.

"So we'll do a birthday dinner with the usual group then? Plus a cake."

He nodded his head, "maybe we can even Skype Ellie and awesome in and pretend like they're with us."

"I'm sure you and Ellie can work that out."

The baby stirred on his chest and opened her still blue eyes. They were anxiously waiting to see if her eyes stayed the same as her mother's or darkened to look more like her father's.

"Look who decided to join the conversation." He cooed looking down at their daughter.

"Do you have any ideas on how to make daddy's birthday special?" She asked.

"I would love it if you could give us a full nights sleep."

She blinked her eyes as if to say, not going to happen.

"I'll settle for no gross diapers or screaming fits during dinner, how about that?"

"Are you really reasoning with a two week old?" She laughed.

"What? She's bright for her age, after all she takes after us."


	6. Versus the Shoe

"Sarah!" He called out heading in the direction of the bedroom where he knew his wife would be. "Morgan is coming over to..."

He paused and looked at the scene in front of him. His usually calm partner was frantically looking around the room that was now in complete disarray.

"Sarah what are you doing?" He asked carefully.

"I can't find my other shoe." She explained not pausing in her search.

"Your other shoe?"

"Yes I need my other shoe so I can go out. There is so much that I need to do, but I can't because I can't find my other shoe."

"Sarah I think you need sleep." He said carefully not wanting to upset her.

The new mother had probably worn herself ragged trying to take care of the house, their daughter, and recover lost memories. A lot had come back over the past year and a half, but there were still chunks missing. It was no surprise that she was going crazy over a lost shoe.

"I don't need sleep, I need my other shoe!" She exclaimed.

"Sarah." He tried again and walked towards her.

She was faster and more agile than him and slunk away looking under the bed for her lost shoe.

"I swear I had both shoes yesterday. Or at least I think I wore them yesterday." She babbled, something that she never did and made her husband even more worried.

"I really think you should lie down."

"I told you Chuck I can't lie down! I need to find my shoe so I can go out."

"You're not going anywhere right now you're delirious."

Her head shot up and stared into his eyes, "did you hide my shoe?"

"Why would I hide your shoe?"

"Because you don't want me going out!"

"Sarah I didn't even know you wanted to leave the house till now."

"Where did you hide my shoe?"

She stalked towards him ready to attacked, but this time he was faster and quickly pulled her into his arms and picked her up.

"Put me down!" She yelled.

He half listened as he lowered both of them onto the bed, but he didn't let go of her.

"You need sleep honey." He whispered and started rocking her like he did to their baby when she fought sleep.

She was almost out when her eyes shot open, "where's the baby? Don't tell me I lost the baby too!"

"You did not loose the baby, she's still in her bassinet." He calmly explained.

The two month old hadn't made a peep during the entire ordeal. That piece of information calmed her down and it wasn't long after that she finally fell asleep. Once he was sure she wasn't going to wake up he let go over her and gently got out of bed. He tip toed over to the bassinet and picked up his daughter. With one final look at his wife he closed the door so she could get the sleep she so desperately needed.

"Hey Chuck!" His best friend said entering the apartment. "Why do you have the baby?"

"Sarah had a break down over a lost shoe so I figured I'd take the baby so she can get some sleep." He explained. The baby in his arms started to fuss to prove his point. "Can you hold her?"

He passed the baby off and headed into the kitchen to prepare a bottle.

"Hey Baby B!" Not looking up from the baby in his arms he asked, "Are you sure you don't want to post pone this? We can try again tomorrow if that's better."

"No its fine. Sarah should sleep the entire time and hopefully Elle will too."

He walked back into the living room bottle in hand, "You want to feed her?"

"No thanks." He replied and tried to hand the baby back.

"You sure? Cause you're going to need to need practice for when you and Alex have your own."

"Which won't be for a very long time."

"Don't say that."

"Well I do have to propose to her before we can even think about having kids. I'm pretty sure Casey would murder me if I knocked up his daughter other wise."

"Good point." He took his daughter back, "you have to set everything up then."

"Deal."

He sat down on the couch and started to feed the baby, who eagerly took the bottle. Once the video game was set up and the baby finished her meal he tried to set her down in her chair, but she was having none of that. He quickly picked her up before the crying turned into a real wail.

"Come on Elle." He pleaded as he bounced her.

He knew it wasn't a real cry and just one for attention. Usually he would ignore, but he knew the instant she was loud enough her mother would wake up, so for now he would give in.

"You sure you don't want to cancel?" His best friend asked again.

"No, I have an idea. Hold her."

Once more he handed over the baby and walked to the closet. He pulled out the baby Bjorn and strapped it to his body. He indicated for his friend to put the baby inside. With baby safely attached to him he sat down on the couch, no more protests coming from his daughter.

"No more tears and she'll fall asleep in no time plus my hands will still be free to play." He wiggled his fingers to prove his point.

"Great plan." His friend nodded in approval and sat down next to father and daughter on the couch handing him the remote.

The two instantly got lost in the game and true to his word the baby fell right to sleep against his chest.

A few hours later he heard the bedroom door open and stole a quick glance to see his wife walk out.

"Hey honey, are you feeling better?"

"Much." She answered and walked over to the couch to give his a kiss on the head. "Are you playing video games with Elle attached to you?"

He looked down, he completely forgotten that the baby was there. "Um...yes. It calmed her."

"It calmed her?"

"She was fussing and I didn't want her to wake you up, so I put her in the Bjorn and she fell right to sleep."

He didn't have to look to know she was rolling her eyes.

"Can I have my baby now?" She demanded.

"But she's so happy." He argued, pretending like he didn't want to disturb his daughter but really he didn't want to pause the game.

"Chuck." She warned and he knew she meant business.

"Fine." He grumbled and reluctantly pressed pause.

He carefully unbuckled the Bjorn and took out the baby passing her to his wife.

"See perfectly happy." He smiled. "And you look so much better too."

"Thanks." She mumbled, he knew she didn't want to admit how much she needed those few hours of uninterrupted sleep.

He looked up at her his eyes shining and with his best smile.

"Fine finish your level." She sighed.

"Thank you!" He stood up quickly to give her a kiss and then quickly unpaused the game.

"Come on Elle." He heard her whisper to the baby, "let's give these boys some privacy to finish their game and you can tell me all that I missed out on."


	7. Versus Date Night

**A/N: Sorry about earlier if you got an e-mail about this chapter. I tried to copy and paste it from AO3 on my iPad and I thought it worked, but it ended up being a bunch of HTML. Here is the real thing!**

They were finally going out, alone just the two of them. They hadn't been on a date since she'd had the baby almost four months ago. Everywhere they'd gone their daughter came too. Not that either was complaining, they loved their little girl so much and always wanted to be with her. But it was time for them to get away and have normal conversations that didn't involve the infant.

Of course she had eagerly agreed to it happy to get out of the house, but when the big night arrived she suddenly felt anxious about leaving her baby.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" She asked her husband as the two got ready that night.

"Yes I am sure."

"But she's still so young!"

"Sarah she's almost four months old."

"Exactly!"

"Sarah plenty of people leave their baby at this age. She won't even notice were gone."

"What if she does?"

"Again, she's three months old. The only thing she notices is when her stomach is empty and her diaper is wet."

"What if she gets hungry when we're gone?"

"Then my mom will feed her. We have enough milk in the fridge in case that happens."

"Are you sure your mom is up for this? It's been awhile since she's taken care of a baby."

"She took care of Clara when Ellie and Devon lived here and goes out to Chicago all the time. I don't think she is rusty."

She nodded her head and continued getting ready for their date. She still didn't look convinced though, and the more he watched her the more he realized how nervous she looked.

"Hey what's wrong? I thought you were excited about this?" He asked quickly pulling her body into his.

"I am it's just..." She mumbled into his chest.

"It's just what?"

"All these worst case scenarios keep running through my head. And I know most of them won't happen, I can't help but worry. For so many years I had to think of all the ways a mission could go wrong and what I had to do to make sure it didn't happen. It's kind of a hard habit to break."

"Oh Sarah." He sighed and pulled her in even closer. "I know it's not always easy to think positively, but I promise Elle is going to be fine. We'll only be gone for a couple hours and aren't going too far away. Plus my mom is one of the best CIA agents, our baby could not be safer."

"I know all of this is irrational."

"No it's not! You're a worried first time mom, it happens to the best of them. I'm sure by the next kid you'll be itching to go out on a date a week after they're born."

"You know that's not happening tonight right?" She laughed.

"Trust me, I am no where near ready for us to have a second kind. I'm still trying to figure out the first one."

He held her a little bit longer, making sure she was less stressed before letting go.

"Now why don't I go make sure we have everything for my mom while you and Elle finish getting ready."

He gave her a kiss on the head and left the bedroom.

She let out a long sigh and looked over at her baby who was happily lying in her bassinet. She quickly scooped her up and sat down in front of her mirror.

"You know one day this is going to be us getting ready together." She explained to her baby.

There were so many things she was excited to share when her daughter got older, but at the same time wasn't ready for her baby to grow. She'd quickly discovered most of parenthood was contradicting feelings, like wanting her baby to grow up but at the same time stay little or even wanting to go on a proper date with her husband but not wanting to be away from her child.

She heard the door bell ring followed by her husbands footsteps and the creaking of the front door being opened.

"Hi Mom." He said, and she knew it was her cue to go.

She gave herself one final look over in the mirror before heading out into the main room.

"Hi Mary." She said putting on her best smile.

"Hi Sarah." She smiled back. "And hello Elle."

Sarah knew it was time to let go, but she couldn't do it just yet.

"I just fed her so she should be fine, but just in case there are extra bottles in the fridge. She'll probably fall asleep soon, but everything you need is in her room. Diapers, clothes, toys. Chuck and I will have our cells on if..."

"Sarah, she's going to be fine." Her mother in-law-quickly interrupted her. She grabbed onto the younger woman's elbows and continued. "I know what I am doing. Nothing is going to happen to your baby I promise."

She let out a long sigh, "I know."

"Now quickly give me your daughter and head out. It's like ripping a band-aid off. Once your outside you'll fell so much better."

She nodded her head and gave her baby a final squeeze and kiss before passing her over to the grandmother. She quickly grabbed her purse and headed out the front door without looking back.

She waited outside enjoying the crisp winter air and taking see breaths to stop herself from going back in. She heard the front door open again, but didn't turn around. She waited until her husband took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze.

"She okay?" She whispered.

"She looked very content in her grandmother's arms. Are you okay?"

"I will be."

"We need this Sarah."

"I know we do, and it's just for a couple hours right?"

"Right! And we'll get back and go cuddle our daughter, though not too much cause we don't want to wake her."

She nodded her head in agreement on that.

"Now let's go before we miss our reservation."

She let him lead her towards the car and away from their baby. She continued to focus on the walk and all the good that would come from this night. Tonight was about her and her husband's relationship and focusing and all the good that had come from the year. It was crazy to think that it had been a year since they had gotten that close again, a year since they created their daughter. And just maybe if her husband was lucky she would stick the baby in the nursery and they could reenact that night.


	8. Versus First Christmas

The day after Thanksgiving he started planning. He hadn't started decorating yet, but he'd still gone into full Christmas mode. He told her everything he wanted their family to do together for the holiday and all that he wanted to put up around the inside of the house. Since their baby was still so little and Chicago so cold they agreed to do Christmas at their apartment. Which also made him even crazier because the spare room needed to be changed from the nursery to a guest room for two adults, a toddler, and a baby. Her sister-in-law had offered to stay at a hotel, but they wouldn't hear of it. They missed their family too much and wanted to spend as much time with them as possible while they were in Burbank, even if it meant a little bit of extra work on their part.

She hoped her husband would mellow out as the holiday got closer, but it only seemed to make him more crazy. It felt like every day he was bringing something home or putting up a new direction.

"Enough!" She finally said one afternoon as he started taking about getting someone to be Santa for their party.

"What's wrong?" He asked sounding hurt and concerned.

"Chuck, you've been talking about Christmas not stop for the past three weeks. I need a break."

"But Sarah its only a few days away and Ellie and Devon will be here soon and..."

"Stop." She interrupted him.

"But Sarah."

"No more buts Chuck, you can take one day off from all this planning."

"I just want it all to be perfect for..."

"For Elle I know. Gosh, you're starting to sound like Ellie when she was planning Clara's first Christmas!"

He paused eyes growing wide, "you remember that?"

"How could I forget that. Ellie was going crazy with decorations, wanting fake snow, and even getting a picture of Clara on Santa's lap. You're not going to make Elle do that are you? Cause she is far too young to..."

She was suddenly caught off by her husband's lips on hers. After a long and very passionate kiss he finally broke away, his goofy grin on his face.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?" She asked once she'd caught her breath.

"You remembered."

"Yeah...so..."

"Sarah, you remembered." He repeated again with more emphasis.

Her eyes grew wide as she finally understood the importance of the moment. She's remembered something all on her own and so casually, like any normal person would have. In that moment she's forgotten all that had happened almost two year ago.

"Oh my gosh I remembered!" She gasped.

His smile grew even wider. All of this was another step in the right direction towards getting her full memory back. She knew it wouldn't be long until they no longer needed to be excited about a new memory and they could be casual and share stories from their past like all other families.

"Do you...do you remember anything else from that Christmas?" He asked carefully.

From his tone, she knew there was more to the memory and it wasn't good. She thought hard, trying to visualize that day.

"Shaw?" She half guessed, but something in her gut told it was right.

He nodded his head giving her the confirmation she needed to keep going.

"He...he broke out of prison? There was some kind of computer hack...a virus...the Oman virus! And he came to the Buy More and chained me up and lowered the temperature so I was freezing. And then he made me watch him try and kill you and then...and then..."

He quickly pulled her into his arms as the memory became more detailed. She was working herself into a panic trying to remember, but also overwhelmed with the emotions that came with it.

"Hey you did it, and you don't need to think about it anymore." He said soothingly trying his best to calm her. "As you can see we both made it out alive and relatively unharmed, and Shaw is back in prison where he belongs."

"That's what you meant when you said Morgan once saved me." She suddenly said picking her head up to look at him. "Morgan was the one who found me in Castle."

He let out a laugh, "yes we do have Morgan to thank for that. And do you remember the party after?"

She nodded her head, "Beckman helped plan it, it was everything that Ellie had wanted, including Clara on Santa's lap."

"And you didn't have time to get my gift, but you gave this one back to me." She pulled away the held up her wrist that now held two bracelets. The one that he'd given to her their first Christmas together, and regifted that year, and the new one he'd given to her the day their daughter was born.

He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. "That's right."

"That was a good part of the night."

"I would say it was more than good. Especially what came after that because you were still cold and I came up with a pretty amazing plan on how to warm you back up, once the party died down."

She playfully smacked him across the shoulder.

"What?! I kept you warm all night didn't I?"

She smiled, that memory came back very quickly. "Yes you did. Are you going to recreate that night too this Christmas?"

"If you're lucky, though I think we can do without the kidnapping and actual freezing part."

"Sounds like a plan."

"So can I get back to my Christmas decorating?" he asked his eyes twinkling with hope and excitement.

"You could, or we could recreate that night right now if you want." She rubbed her body up against him and gave him peck in the lips making him want more.

He looked down at her body and behind her at the stacks on Christmas decorations trying to make up his mind. Their baby decided to make the decision from him as she let out a loud wail.

"To be continued?" She asked already walking away to get their daughter.

"Think of it as an early Christmas present."

She turned around shocked, "sex is an early Christmas present?"

"No, pausing making Elle's first Christmas prefect for sex is the present."

She rolled her eyes and continued to walk to the nursery. It was very lucky her husband and daughter were so cute or else they would both be in big trouble.


	9. Versus First Birthday

He stretched over across the bed expecting to find his wife's warm body, but instead all he felt was cold sheets. He pushed himself up and blearily looked around for her in the dark, but she was not there. Reluctantly he pushed himself up and out of bed knowing the one place she could be. He walked out of their room and into the nursery. Sure enough she was sitting there in the rocking chair, their daughter in her arms.

"Did she wake up?" He whispered.

She shook her head no. "It was me."

"You?" He asked walking closer to his family.

"I woke up disoriented thinking all of this was a dream and I had to make sure she was real."

"So you decided to take the sleeping baby out of her crib, very risky."

"I'm CIA trained, I've had to handle things that could blow up if I moved the wrong way."

"Good point."

He sat down on the floor next to his wife and daughter. He took her hand and brought it to his lips.

"How do you feel now?" He asked.

"Better, I just needed to hold her in my arms."

"How long have you been here?"

She shrugged, "once I sat down I didn't want to let her go. What time is it?"

He looked over at the wall where the white and black clock hung. "12:01. Do you know what that means?"

"What?"

"It's officially Miss Eloise's first birthday."

Her eyes grew wide and looked down at the baby in her arms. "I can't believe she's one."

"Me neither. It's so weird to think exactly one year ago we were in labor and delivery."

"Well technically I didn't deliver her until that night."

"True, but you might have been having contractions at this time."

She nodded her head agreement, "I was in a lot of pain all morning and very uncomfortable."

"Yet you wouldn't allow me to work from home."

"In my defense we had a big case."

"Which Morgan handled quiet well on his own and it wasn't that big."

"It felt big at that time."

He shrugged, "it might have been, but you and Elle are the two most important things in my life, everything else is small in comparison."

She grabbed tightly onto his hands at his words. It was still hard to believe that he could still bring a hardened CIA agent to tears with such simple sentences. She hopes to never get used to this, the way he made her feel so special.

"So what are we going to do to celebrate the big one?"

"Well we are having our big party later tonight, I don't think there is much else we can do at this point since she doesn't fully understand what's happening."

"I know, but I feel we need to do something right now! Our first child is one, that's a huge milestone."

"Hey if you want to wake her up for a mini party now be my guest, just remember you'll be stuck with a cranky baby all day long. And we don't want to make those kinds of memories do we."

He sighed in defeat, "I guess not."

"Once we are all properly awake we'll make it special." She promised.

"I know."

They sat in silence for a moment, the only sound was the gentle rocking on the chair and their baby's breaths.

"It's crazy how much things change in a year." He suddenly said.

"Yeah." She agreed.

A year ago on this day she was a woman who was still struggling to get her memories back. A year ago on this day they had just fully built back the relationship they'd almost lost. And a year ago today she was sitting at home alone terrified about the biggest change that would ever happen in her life. Now she couldn't imagine what her life would be like without her daughter. Yes motherhood was still terrifying at times, but every moment with the baby brought her so much joy she could easily forget the what ifs and fears.

This past year had been one of the best in her life. Along side her husband they got to watch their daughter grow. They saw her go from a tiny infant who relied completely on them to a mobile baby with little to no fears of her surrounding world. They too had changed, their bond had grown even closer as they figured out parenthood together.

"We should go back to bed." He whispered.

"I know." She said, but made no move to get up.

This year too was going to go by quickly and her daughter would once again change. She wasn't ready to let go of the newly turned one year old. She wanted to engrave this moment into her memory, her husband sitting beside the chair as their daughter rested on her chest sleeping soundly.

Taking a cue from her he didn't get up either. So the three of them sat in the darkness of the nursery with only a faint glow of the nightlight, savoring the moment. Things might have changed in big ways over the year and would continue to, but what they had right here in this nursery never would.


End file.
